Three-Dimensional Electric Field Vector Measurements in Nitrobenzene Using Kerr Effect

Abstract

We have been investigating a nonuniform electric field measurement method in dielectric liquids using the Kerr electrooptic effect. Three-dimensional electric field vectors were measured as the first step in determining the three-dimensional nonuniform electric field distributions. The electric field vector to be measured was produced in a pair of inclined parallel-plane electrodes. Negative high-voltage pulses were applied to the electrode system. Nitrobenzene with large Kerr constant was used in the experiments. A He-Ne laser beam passed through nitrobenzene between the electrodes along two different orthogonal directions. The magnitude and the direction of the electric field vector were calculated from the light intensity measured by a photodiode. Maximum errors of measured electric field strength and direction were 9.3% and 4.3°, respectively.